Rebecca
Fortunately, the bombs Rebecca had scattered about so proudly never went off.
According to her, the bombs she carried day to day were fitted with double—sometimes triple—safety mechanisms, so they wouldn't detonate over anything trivial.
That said, of course—
"Even so, you can't just pull bombs out like that."
"She's right. That was going too far."
—her little stunt was hardly something they could laugh off.
Jun and Carol fixed Rebecca with steely glares and tore into her without mercy.
"…I have no excuse. It felt like you were testing my readiness, and I just… got carried away."
Rebecca hunched her shoulders and hung her head. She looked so thoroughly cowed that even her stiff elf ears drooped, limp and defeated.
She seemed genuinely remorseful, and more than that, so pitiful that neither of them could bring themselves to scold her any further.
The more I look at her, the more she feels like a soft-hearted older sister.
It was a personality that clashed wildly with her cool, haughty face—and with the terrifying moniker of Bomb Mage. Did he dislike that? Not at all. If anything, Jun found the gap between image and reality thoroughly charming.
And that wasn't the only thing.
"Hey, little sister, you okay? Cheer up, yeah?"
"If getting scolded a little is enough to make our youngest wilt like that, what good are you? Straighten those shoulders."
"…Fine. But why are you calling me the youngest?"
The moment Jun and Carol eased off, Fortuna and Dohwa—who had been watching carefully—fluttered straight over to comfort Rebecca. She didn't seem to mind the consolation, but being called the youngest clearly rubbed her the wrong way.
Well, who would enjoy being called the baby by a tiny fairy and a spirit? Little kids might love it, but anyone of a certain age was bound to bristle.
I wonder how she'll react when she finds out what Fortuna and Dohwa really are.
Jun pictured the look on Rebecca's face someday and chuckled, then started walking again.
Before long, the group arrived at the underground sparring hall where they would put Rebecca's skill—and the power of her bombs—to the test.
"Party leader, are you sure about this? Bombs aren't like swords or spears—you can't stop them mid-swing or pull them back. The self-defense bombs I brought are weaker than the combat ones, but a direct hit will still do serious damage."
Rebecca stepped onto the sparring floor and looked across at Jun as she spoke. He had steeled himself before coming here, and he had a few tricks up his sleeve—but hearing it out loud, he couldn't help feeling a little rattled.
Apparently the fear of bombs rooted in his previous life's memories ran deeper than he'd expected.
"Then how about we put up barriers? The moment a barrier breaks, we stop the spar."
"Good idea."
With Rebecca's agreement, Jun called Fortuna over from where she had been waiting outside the ring with Carol and Dohwa.
"I hate to say it, but wouldn't it be better to ask a guild staffer than your fairy?"
"No. Fortuna's barriers are far stronger than anything the staff can put up."
On one side of the underground sparring hall, guild employees were always on duty to cast protective barriers—so that even people who couldn't control their power at all, like bomb users, or those still too green to manage it properly, could fight freely. Given the nature of the job, every one of them was a barrier specialist. But none of them could match Fortuna.
Of course they couldn't. She was an angel, a true master of holy magic. Her holy arts specialized in buffs, yes—but the raw output was on an entirely different level from a human's.
"…Seems you're telling the truth."
Even with ears that could tell truth from lies—ears that must have already confirmed Jun wasn't lying—Rebecca still looked like she couldn't quite believe it. Jun just shrugged. He didn't take offense. He wouldn't have believed it either.
Most beings who became familiars were unstable existences that couldn't stand alone. When an existence grew unstable, its abilities grew unstable or weakened too—so it was rare for a familiar to outclass a person. Such familiars did exist, but they were the type who contracted with a summoner for growth despite already being complete, and they were notoriously difficult to handle, every last one of them fiercely proud.
Looking at Fortuna fluttering over while munching on the popcorn Carol had given her, it was hard to put her in that category no matter how you squinted. Even if Jun talked himself hoarse explaining how incredible a fairy she was, Rebecca clearly wouldn't buy it.
In cases like this—
Showing her is best.
"You called?"
"Yeah. Put barriers on me and Miss Rebecca."
"Okey-dokey!"
Multicolored motes of light burst from Fortuna's fairy wings and sank into Jun and Rebecca. Midway through, Fortuna couldn't hold back and took a huge bite of the popcorn she had been cradling so carefully—enough that even Jun briefly wondered whether she could actually cast a proper barrier—but—
"Huh…"
"See? Our Fortuna's amazing, right?"
—the result was outstanding. Her barrier wrapped every inch of their bodies without a gap, so thin you had to focus aura into your eyes just to make it out, yet so tough it put ordinary steel armor to shame.
"Her superpower, Luck, is already no joke—and she can handle holy magic at this level too? What on earth is she? Is she even really a fairy?"
"Heehee. That's a secret I'll tell our youngest once we're better friends. Now both of you fight hard, okay? I'll be cheering!"
Cheering for whom?
Before anyone could ask, Fortuna flew off toward Carol and Dohwa outside the ring. Was something urgent?
"Aaaah! Dohwa! Unnie told you not to eat it and wait!"
"I-I am most sorry. The caramel scent was simply too delightful, and this humble one… could not help herself. Nom nom."
"Aaaah! So mean!"
"There, there, Lady Fortuna. There's plenty more, so calm down. Huhu."
"Wooow!"
"…"
Jun decided he had not heard the faintly drifting conversation. Popcorn might be the perfect companion for watching a fight, but letting it completely steal the show would wound his pride.
"Shall we begin?"
"Fine. I'll give you the first move."
At the words I'll give you the first move, Jun stopped halfway through drawing Firmus and looked at Rebecca. She wore a perfectly bland expression, as if she had said the most natural thing in the world.
Been a while since I got treated like this.
After the duel with that rat who'd handed him Siliens, no adventurer had ever looked down on Jun as a greenhorn. Adventurer society was ruthlessly meritocratic. Age barely registered.
But the age gap here was so vast that, in Rebecca's eyes, Jun—who had only just come of age—still looked like a newborn.
How big was the difference again? Nine times? Not quite ten, I think.
Recalling the age listed on Rebecca's introduction form, he understood her attitude. Understood it—
But that's as far as it goes.
Understanding was one thing. His pride still stung.
Jun resolved to put this dark elf through the wringer.
Activation
Mind Control
He accelerated his thoughts and honed his mind to a razor's edge.
Strength
Haste
Iron Body
Over Drive
Then, in the blink of an eye, he poured that accelerated thought and refined mind into reinforcing his body.
Crack! Crackle!
Jun's eyes flooded with blue, as if they held lightning itself, and menacing electricity began to leap across his entire body. Sensing the danger too late, Rebecca reached for her weapon—
Click.
Something ice-cold pressed against her throat. And then—
"One."
—a voice came, dazzling and beautiful, yet steeped in lethal danger.
"How many more times do you think you'll die?"
"…Ah."
Only when the voice came a second time did Rebecca realize that what rested against her neck was a sword held by a newborn who hadn't lived a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of her years—and that the number he spoke was the number of times he had already killed her.
Wounded pride made Rebecca murmur, almost like a vow:
"…There won't be any more."
"I sincerely hope so."
The tone was teasing. But in the newborn's voice before her, there was not a shred of mockery or scorn. Only battle spirit, refined to its purest form. He genuinely wanted her to fight with everything she had.
Rebecca tore her gaze from the blade at her throat and met the newborn's eyes. Only then did she understand how thoroughly prejudice had clouded her judgment.
I've truly wasted my years.
Because the one standing before her was no newborn to be dismissed—he was a beast she would have to stake her life against.
And not just any beast…
A dragon.
Those blue eyes, as if cradling thunder, were the eyes of a dragon she had only ever heard of in stories.
"You too, party leader. Don't die so easily."
Her heart hammered. The corner of her mouth lifted on its own.
A grin.
"I can't stand a half-hearted explosion."
The dark elf hunter's instinct whispered for her to hunt this beast. The Bomb Mage's madness screamed for her to use her bombs on him.
Rebecca did not defy those voices.
Black Needle
The shadow pooled at Rebecca's feet rippled. The instant Jun registered it, needles of darkness surged upward and lanced toward him.
An attack that filled his entire forward field. With no other choice, Jun threw himself back.
Thud. Thud-thud.
The moment his feet, lifted by the retreat, touched the ground again, something rolled beneath them.
A bomb.
BOOM!
The bomb detonated, and the blast swept through the space around him—
before Jun could even move.